


Idiots Part V

by JadeMoon



Series: Idiots [5]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Best Friends, Childhood Friends, Denial, Dumbasses, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Healing, Idiots in Love, Making Up, Male-Female Friendship, Mentions of Rape, Polyamory Negotiations, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-14 05:12:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19266529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadeMoon/pseuds/JadeMoon
Summary: Agent Thirteen isn't new to SHIELD, she's been with them for more than half her life. She's made every effort to NOT make friends because people suck and they stab you in the back the first chance they get. She's been quite successful until she gets stationed at the Avenger's compound. There, things start to unravel for her and she finds herself breaking her own rules. Rules she put in place to protect herself. She's caught off guard by the one and only Captain Rogers and things just spiral from there.They're both idiots. You'll see. Then we may add a third idiot, but Barnes is by far the brightest of the three.***potential trigger warnings: mention of rape*****





	Idiots Part V

“We lost communication with them just after drop off. There’s a winter vortex dropping snow at an alarming rate,” Maria says as she shows Steve and the others the last known locations of both Bucky and Hayley. The red dots indicate they were miles apart. 

“What about GPS--” Wanda was about to ask when both the red dots on the screen begin flashing. They move till they’re side by side and several miles from the original positions on the map.

“Looks like they’re on the move,” Sam says. 

“Comms are down. We aren’t getting thru to either of them. The storm has stopped. We can pinpoint--”

“Barnes calling for extraction. Coordinates to follow,” Bucky’s voice cuts through the air. It’s choppy and full of static but they can make him out. The coordinates come a second later. 

“Get a jet prepped now. I want in the air in three minutes,” Steve orders.

“Clint and I will go,” Natasha volunteers. “You’re needed here. That World Leaders meeting is something you and Tony have to go to.”

Steve wants to argue, wants to tell Natasha the world leaders can shove it up their asses till he gets back with the two people who mean the most to him. 

“We’ll bring them home, Steve,” Clint promises. He grabs Natasha and they race from the room. 

“They’re both strong, Captain Rogers. They’re both seasoned agents. They’re fine, I’m sure of it,” Maria tells him.

“I want to know the minute they get back,” he growls. “I don’t care where the hell I am.”

Tony meets him in the lobby of the compound. 

“You clean up nicely, Rogers. Who shit on your toast now?” Tony asks. 

“Two of the team have been out of comms until about an hour ago.”

“Barnes and Stone. Maybe they were just having some fun with each other. Since you and Stone are just friends.”

Steve’s heart stops beating for a second. 

“What?” 

“Nothing. I’m sure they were being held at gunpoint and one of them did something incredibly bravely stupid to get them out of it. Focus. I need you in game mode here.”

Steve can’t focus though. He can’t. Why were they out of communication? What the hell happened? Bucky wouldn’t...no…Hayley wouldn’t either. Would she? With his best friend?

He gets the notification that Bucky and Hayley have landed just as he and Tony are headed back. It’s been a grueling day and Steve’s head is just pounding. All he’s been able to do is think about Bucky and Hayley wrapped up in each other or one of them getting shot or captured or…

He finds Bucky in medical. 

“What the fuck happened?” Steve demands as soon as he sees his friend. 

“I’m fine. Got shot, but it’s healed. How the fuck have you been?” Bucky retorts. 

“You got shot?” Steve asks, his previous anger vanishing. 

“Yeah. Got shot, fell in a fucking frozen pond, nearly bled out, nearly died from fucking hypothermia, how the fuck are you doing, Steven?” Bucky snarls. 

“Jesus Christ, Buck...what happened?” 

“Are you going to jump down my throat again?”

“No. I’m sorry.”

“I was spotted before Hayley got there. She found me, we got chased. I led her, stupidly, across a frozen pond. I’m heavy and went through the ice. She pulled me out. Steve, Hails saved my life. She stitched me up, she made me eat and drink...hell she slept next to me when I was freezing to death…”

================================================================================================================================================================

Bucky stops talking when he sees the fire erupt in Steve’s eyes. Friends my fucking ass.

“She what?” he asks in this deathly calm tone that scares the hell out of Bucky.

“She kept me warm. She had to. I had hypothermia,” Bucky tries to explain. He regrets telling him she had slept with him. He regrets saying anything about Hayley to Steve now. 

“Why did you sleep with her?”

“Back off, Steve,” Bucky warns. “She did what she had to do to help me. Besides, aren’t you the one who claims she’s just a friend? Why the fuck is this a problem if that’s all she is!”

Steve’s eyes are wild with rage. Bucky has never seen him like this and if he wasn’t so pissed off at Steve’s stupid bullshit with Hayley and them just being friends he’d be terrified. 

“You heal fast. She didn’t have to sleep with you.”

“First off, step back,” Bucky says getting off the exam table and standing to his full height. “Second, she didn’t sleep with me in the fucking sense. She slept next to me because - if you’ll recall from basic training - body heat is the best way to help counter hypothermia when there’s not a goddamn hospital around.”

“Walk away, Steve, now,” Natasha says walking into the room. She steps between Bucky and Steve and Bucky is pretty sure she’s stupid for doing that. Steve looks like he’s about to start throwing punches. 

“You let her sleep with you,” Steve snarls. His lips curled over his teeth like a rabid dog. 

“ENOUGH!” Natasha nearly screams. She shoves Steve back a step and he turns his focus to her.

“This doesn’t involve you.”

“Oh it damn sure does, pretty boy. I warned you not to get involved with agents. She’s just a friend you told me. Now look at you! You’re about to beat the shit out of your best friend, the guy you risked your life for over someone you  _ swore _ to everyone was just a friend! Are you fucking kidding me?” Natasha fumes. 

Steve steps back from her and looks away. 

“Your words, Steve,” Bucky says coldly. “She’s just a friend. Your words. Not mine. Not hers. You even have Hayley repeating that.”

Steve glances up, that fire reigniting in his eyes. 

“Don’t you dare go after her for this,” Bucky warns. 

“I won’t,” Steve mutters. “I won’t go near her.”

He storms out of medical. Natasha gives Bucky a worried look. 

“Go after him, Nat. If I go…”

“I don’t want that bloodshed on my hands, Buck. Jesus Christ,” she groans and chases after him. 

Bucky can only hope that Hayley doesn’t go looking for Steve. He also knows that in order to make peace with his brother he’s going to have to forego getting to know Hayley any further. That upsets him. She saved his life. He owes her. But he won’t risk pissing Steve off any further with this. He should have known Steve was more invested in her than Steve admitted.

================================================================================================================================================================

Hayley finishes up in the shower and heads to the offices to type of a goddamn report before she does anything else. She wants this knocked out so she doesn’t have to worry about it. 

It takes almost an hour but she has everything that happened and what she and Bucky accomplished listed. No turn signal fluid, no one died, no one lost a limb (well, not on that mission), but there were some injuries. Not too bad. Not great, but…

She drops off the report and heads back to medical to check on Bucky. 

“He left a while ago,” Banner informs her. 

“How is he?”

“Seems alright--”

“Thirteen.”

Hayley sees Romanov approaching and she looks fit to kill.

“Agent Romanov.”

“We need to talk. Now.”

“I will leave you two alone,” Banner says backing away. 

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Excuse me?” Hayley snaps. 

“You’ve got Barnes and Rogers at each other’s throats because of you.”

Hayley reels from this.

“What?”

“You really don’t know, do you?” Natasha asks, astounded.

“Would you please explain?” Hayley demands.

“They’re fighting over you. Rogers thought you slept with Barnes--”

“First of all that’s none of his fucking business or yours,” Hayley fumes, “secondly, I had to keep Barnes warm after he fell through the fucking ice and damn near froze to death. Should I have just left him to his own goddamn devices?”

“That’s not...no. You did the right thing. His story matches yours. And you’re right, it isn’t my business or Steve’s or anyone else’s until it starts shit like this.”

“I didn’t fuck Barnes. And why the fuck does Steve care? We’re just friends. He’s all over Sharon Carter so why the fuck should he care what I do?”

“You should ask him that. Maybe the three of you can smooth things over again.” 

Hayley storms out of medical and up to the living quarters. She gets to Steve’s door and FRIDAY stops her before she can knock.

“Captain Rogers is not to be disturbed under any circumstances.”

“Tell him it’s me and we need to talk.”

“Very well.”

The door opens and Steve greets her with a menacing look. His arms are folded over his chest and there’s nothing but animosity coming off of him. 

“Agent Thirteen.”

Hayley staggers back like he slapped her. 

“Steve--”

“Captain Rogers,” he corrects her with an icy tone. 

“ _ Sir _ ,” she says trying to regroup, “I think we need to talk.”

“No, Agent, we do not. If you’ll excuse me I have things I need to tend to.” 

He closes the door in her face. 

================================================================================================================================================================

Hayley has been abandoned. No one on the Avengers will give her a second look. Bucky turns and heads in the opposite direction when he sees her and Steve won’t acknowledge her as anything other than Agent Thirteen. He doesn’t say hello, he doesn’t look at her, he doesn’t speak to her unless it’s to tell her to move.

Hayley hurts. She heads to the gym to try and work off some of emotional turmoil. 

“You really are stupid.”

She freezes. She knows that voice. Someone from her past she’s tried to forget. Or did forget until now. 

“So fucking stupid and useless, just like you’ve always been.”

“You’re not supposed to be anywhere near me. That was the decree. Five hundred--”

“Do you think I care about what happened? I’m a high ranking officer in this outfit now and I can do as I please. Tracking you down has been hard, but you’ve gotten sloppy like I knew you would. Stupid as always. Did you really think that sticking around here, that being around these fools would make you feel wanted? That they’d accept a worthless piece of shit like you?”

“Get out.”

“Not this time, Harlot--”

“It’s  _ Hayley _ .”

He snorts.

“Same thing. How fucking pathetic you are. You really think they need someone like you? They have enough problems with that fucking brain damaged psycho Barnes. They should have left his programming in tact, he’s almost as useless as you without the HYDRA discipline in him.”

“Leave him the fuck alone,” she snarls. 

“Or what? What will you do? Do you think he’d care if you came running to his rescue? Do you honestly think that any of them give two shits about you and what you think or what you feel? You’re just a number. Just a piece of trash they have to contend with till you get reassigned. You don’t mean  _ anything _ to them. Did you really think that the great and holy Captain America would stoop so low as to befriend a waste of space like yourself? Or that the little freak Maximoff would want to be your friend?” he taunts.

“Get. Out.”

“I’m the only person who ever cared about you. That was my gift to you. I’m the only person who would willingly stoop so low as to give you the time of day. You’re not worthy of licking the dog shit from my boots. You’re a fucking travesty. But we can overlook all of that. I’ll take you back. You just have to beg.”

“No. You...you aren’t supposed to be here!”

He laughs.

“Are you? You’re sticking around like rotten fish. They’ve thrown you away, you stupid bitch.  _ They don’t want you here _ .”

“What the fuck is going on in here?” Barton yells as he marches into the gym. “Who the fuck are you?”

“Colton Lannister,” he says flashing his credentials. Barton looks unimpressed. Hayley is struggling to breathe through her panic right now. She runs out of the gym before either man can say anything else.

She runs back to her quarters and into the bathroom where she violently purges her insides. 

It’s time to go.

================================================================================================================================================================

Bucky paces around his quarters like a caged tiger. He can’t sleep, he refuses to eat…

He likes Hayley.

Not just  _ likes _ . He’d seen her in that dress, walking with Wanda and Vision to Stark’s party. He’d run back to his room to put on a tux or a suit or  _ something _ but he doesn’t have anything. Her green eyes shine when she laughs and god that fire he saw in them when he stupidly asked if she wanted to see his “goods”. Steve’s stupid. 

There’s the other problem: Steve is madly in love with this girl. Bucky should have known, should have seen the signs and he wouldn’t have said anything to Steve about Hayley falling asleep with him. He wouldn’t have indulged these stupid fantasies about her since the day Steve introduced them. Now Steve’s pissed off at him and hasn’t spoken to him in days. And everytime Bucky sees Hayley he runs the other direction like a fucking coward. 

Bucky slams his fists to his eyes and bites back a wounded sob. 

================================================================================================================================================================

Steve sits on the jet still stewing over Hayley and Bucky. Bucky he’s going to forgive, he had no control over what happened. He was shot and lost a lot of blood so he wasn’t thinking clearly.  _ Hayley was _ . 

Does she just sleep with everyone she meets? Just cozies up to whoever she thinks will give her something and…

“We’re here,” Sam announces. “Fury says we’re to meet up with some other agents from whatever they are now that SHIELD is gone.”

“SHIELD is dead.”

“I’m aware, Cap. Man, I know something’s bothering you. I’m pretty sure I know what, but you have to let this go. Barnes is your best friend. He’s not going to throw away your friendship over some girl if he knows you have feelings for her. That’s not the man you’ve told me about--”

“He’s changed,” Steve growls as they get off the plane.

“Has he? Or have you both? He’s still loyal to you to a damn fault, Cap. If you told him to prove it by jumping off a cliff he’d do it without question. You  _ know _ this,” Sam persists. 

“Not another word,” Steve snarls. Sam puts his hands up and shakes his head. 

They meet up with the other agents at the hotel. It’s a cut and dry security run. Steve’s presence is supposed to deter any would be assassins from trying anything during the Vizier’s party. Sam’s going to be getting intel on the Vizier to put the slimy prick in jail for the rest of his life. Human trafficking is just one of the things this shady bastard has been up to.

The other two agents? Steve can only assume they’re there to help Sam. He doesn’t need or want any other agents near him. Not after this shit with Hayley.

He throws his gear at the wall and sits heavily on the bed. The shield sits next to him and he’s reminded of what Erskine had told him all those years ago, that he’d chosen Steve because he was a good man. Steve doesn’t feel like a good man right now. He feels like he’s being torn apart. 

He was ready to beat the shit out of his best friend, the man he’s known for almost a century, the guy that looked after him and took care of Steve as best he could, over a girl. 

Sam’s right, Buck would  _ never _ do anything to intentionally hurt him. He took Steve at his word that he and Hayley were just friends. She had saved his life. 

“Oh my god,” he sobs, covering his face with his hands. 

Hayley had saved Buck’s life. She had stitched him up, pulled him out of icy waters, sat with him through a fever episode...she didn’t ask for this to happen. She didn’t jump on Buck the minute they got inside the cabin. She didn’t sneak into his bed and sleep with him. She did what she had to in order to save Bucky. 

And Steve being the idiot he is has potentially ruined two friendships.

================================================================================================================================================================

“Head in the game?” Sam asks as they march down the hall to meet the other agents. Sam is in a tux and is trying to straighten his bow. Steve is in the bright blue uniform, shield on his back. It’s for show. Just like the old days. 

“As much as it can be,” Steve replies. 

“You seem calmer.”

“Let’s just say I had an epiphany and leave it at that.”

“Captain Rogers! So good to meet you, Sir,” a tall, dark haired man says approaching them. He’s followed by another man who stays silent. 

“You are?” Sam asks suspiciously. 

“Agent Lannister. This is Agent Cantel. It’s an honor to be working with you,” Lannister says keeping his attention on Steve. Steve’s in no mood for this fan bullshit right now. 

“Do you have your orders?” Steve asks, cutting to the chase.

“Absolutely,” Lannister replies. “We’re ready when you are.”

“Great,” Steve mutters and the four of them sync up. Comms are turned on, watches set, and then they part ways. 

Steve’s appearance in certain areas of the world either gets screams and cheers or he gets shit thrown at him and cussed out. This crowd applauds his appearance like he’s just finished doing a goddamn one man show on Broadway. 

“Ah, Captain America! So good to see you, my friend!” the Vizier gushes. He takes Steve’s hand and shakes it crazily. Underage prostitution ring is another thing this guy does as a side business. Steve’s stomach rolls. He fights the urge to wipe his hand off once the Vizier lets him go. He can see Lannister prowling amongst the guests. Clearly this guy is one of the few seasoned agents he’s come across, but Steve’s sure he’s got nothing on Hails. 

His heart aches at the thought of her. It hurts more when he thinks of how fucking horrible he’s been to her and Buck. 

“Cap. Found the motherload,” Sam hisses into his comm. He sees Lannister looking over and Steve gives a quick nod. Lannister takes his cue and vanishes into the swarm of guests milling around. 

Sam pulls up everything and there was a lot more there than any of them had guessed. The authorities are alerted and have agreed to wait until the party is over so as to not make a scene. 

It wasn’t the party goers that caused the fight, it was the Vizier’s all female bodyguards.

“He’s sent his Harem out!” Lannister barks into the comms. The women flank the Vizier, all of them heavily armed and ready to die. Shots are fired, the authorities are now hidden behind anything that will shelter them from the high powered weapons. The women try and usher the Vizier to his car. Steve sees Cantel take out the tires on the vehicle, disabling it. Lannister is nowhere to be seen. 

A smoke grenade is lobbed over to the Vizier and his troops and it’s just the distraction Sam and Steve need to disarm as many of them as they can. He hates having to manhandle a woman, but it’s either this or get shot.

Cantel joins the foray and eventually so does Lannister. The Vizier and his guards are subdued, Sam gives the authorities copies of the files he swiped (Fury wants the originals just in case), and they’re taken into custody. 

“Nicely done,” Lannister says walking up beside Steve and clapping him on the back. Steve gives him a look. 

“Nicely done,” Steve repeats. 

“We got him, Cap, and based on all that shit I just handed over the Vizier won’t be getting out any time soon,” Sam says proudly. Steve nods. 

“You seem a little...disappointed, Captain Rogers,” Lannister says. “Everything okay, Sir?”

“It’s fine. Just have some things on my mind,” Steve mutters. Sam gives him a curious look. 

“Female trouble? You have to put them in their place right at the start or they try and walk all over you,” Lannister says. Steve can’t believe what he’s hearing. He looks at Lannister and then at Cantel. Cantel looks just as shocked as Steve is. 

“What the hell decade are you from?” Sam asks. “Put her in her place? This ain’t the fifties, boy.”

“Just an observation,” Lannister says smoothly. “How are those new agents working out?” 

“Aside from not knowing that turn signal fluid isn’t real?” Sam asks. 

“Sam,” Steve warns. 

Lannister laughs. 

“Cantel! Doesn’t that sound like something Stone would say? It sounds  _ just like _ something she’d say!” Lannister laughs. 

“Stone?” Steve asks. He can’t help but take the bait. 

“Agent Hayley Stone. Have you met her?” Lannister continues. Steve glances at Cantel and there is a look of horror on his face. 

“She’s at the base now. She’s been assigned to be part of our team,” Steve says as blandly as possible. 

“Until further notice, I’m sure. There’s no substitute for a good agent, though,” Lannister tells them. 

“She  _ is  _ a good agent,” Sam states. 

“Oh? You’ve worked with her?”

“No, but--”

“Then you don’t know,” Lannister cuts Sam off. “This is a man’s job anyway, right, Captain Rogers?”

“Whatever you say.”

Sam looks at Steve like Steve has totally lost his goddamn mind. Steve hasn’t, but this Lannister asshole has left a bad taste in his mouth and he just wants to get away from him.

“We’ll have our reports sent over. Cantel and I have other business to attend. Feel free to request me if you need any help on the team, Captain Rogers,” Lannister says. He grabs Steve’s hand and shakes it, squeezing it to show his might. Steve could crush Lannister’s hand if he wanted to, but he just wants to let go and go scrub the vile feeling of this guy’s skin off of his own.

They part ways and Sam and Steve head back to the hotel.

“We’re leaving tonight,” Steve announces, “get your shit packed.”

“On it.”

He meets Sam in the lobby. Steve’s already called and notified Maria they are on their way back tonight.

“You want to tell me what the hell that was all about?” Sam asks as they wait to board the plane.

“He’s a slimeball.”

“No shit.”

“He’s trying to get a recommendation from me to get him on the team. And to get Hayley out.”

“Maybe that’s for the best since...you know….”

“I’m going home to apologize to them, Sam. They aren’t going anywhere.”

Steve sees Sam’s smug smile of approval.

================================================================================================================================================================

“Sergeant Barnes, Captain Rogers is on his way to your quarters. He asked that you be decent.”

Bucky looks at the clothes he’s wearing--old sweat pants and a tank top--and decides that’s decent enough. 

“What the hell does he want?” Bucky mutters. A knock on the door a minute later sets Bucky’s anxiety off. He has to make himself get off of the couch to answer the door. 

“Steve,” he says opening the door and seeing his former best friend standing there. Steve hasn’t even dropped his gear off. He must have just come right up…

“I owe you an apology, Buck. I am...I’m a fucking moron. A jealous, stupid, dumb…”

“Stop,” Bucky says shaking his head. “I get the point.”

“I’m sorry, Buck.”

“Why didn’t you tell me how you felt about her instead of lying?” Bucky blurts out. He steps back from Steve afraid Steve may still swing at him. 

“Because I didn’t know,” Steve says dumbly. Bucky gawks at him. 

“How did you not know?”

“I just...it started off that we were just friends and talking and then...I don’t know when it changed,” Steve admits sadly. He looks up at Bucky with pain in his eyes.

“Jesus Christ, Steve.”

“You knew right away,” Steve says heavily. 

“Knew what?” Bucky says sitting down. Steve drops his shit and parks in the chair.

“That you were attracted to her, more than just as a friend.”

Bucky opens his mouth to say something and then thinks better of it. He doesn’t know what Steve wants him to say. Does he say yes, he knew he had a thing for Hayley the day he actually met her or does he keep his mouth shut and lie?

Steve is looking at him earnestly. Bucky rubs his chin roughly.

“Steve,  I should have known you were full of shit about just being friends with her. But she saved my life. She didn’t do anything wrong--”

“I know. I know,” Steve says choking back a sob. “And I was too goddamn jealous…”

“I’m not mad at you Steve. I’m scared that you hate me,” Bucky admits. Steve looks appalled. 

“No. YOU should hate ME,” Steve states. “Who does this to their friends?”

“Someone who’s confused.”

Steve hangs his head. 

“I’m sorry, Buck--”

“Stop, kid. It’s over. Just don’t try and bullshit me anymore.”

“I won’t.”

Silence. 

“Have...have you talked to her?” Steve asks after a few minutes. Bucky shakes his head no.

“I’ve avoided her, Steve. I made the choice to try and keep from pissing you off any further by staying as far away from her as possible.”

Tears well up in Steve’s eyes. This isn’t what the kid wanted. He’s never been in a situation like this and he handled it poorly and now he’s got to pay the piper. Bucky wishes there was something he could say to make this easier on Steve, but there isn’t. This is the aftermath they all have to deal with now.

“I take it you haven’t tried to talk to her, either,” Bucky says quietly. He’s sure Steve hasn’t. Not after the remarks he made in medical.

“I shut the door in her face, Buck. She came looking for me that day and...I shut the door in her face. I told her to call me Captain Rogers and…”

“FRIDAY?” 

“Yes, Sergeant Barnes.”

“Is Hayley in her quarters?”

“No, Sergeant Barnes.”

“Is she on a mission?” Steve asks.

“No, Captain Rogers.”

They two men look at each other.

“Did she go out?” Bucky asks.

“Agent Thirteen has been reassigned. She has not been at the compound for six days.”

“Who reassigned her?” Steve demands. 

Silence.

“FRIDAY--”

“Agent Thirteen requested to be reassigned according to her records, Captain Rogers.”

Bucky feels like he was shot through the heart.

“What have I done?” Steve cries, tears streaming from his eyes. 

“You didn’t know--”

“I did! She told me that she didn’t have anyone else, Buck. That everyone throws her away. I threw her away!”

Bucky gets up and gets the Bourbon out. He pours Steve a glassful and hands it to him. 

“Where was she reassigned, FRIDAY?” Bucky asks before drinking right from the bottle. 

“I am being advised that Director Fury would like to speak with you,” FRIDAY states. 

“For fucks’ sake,” Steve groans and wipes his eyes. 

“Go clean yourself up quick,” Bucky tells him. Steve gets up and heads to the bathroom.

“FRIDAY, is this because we’re asking about Agent Thirteen?” Bucky asks. He feels like this is some fucked up Magic 8-ball type shit right now.

“I am not sure, Sergeant Barnes.”

Steve emerges from the back looking like hell. Bucky feels like hell. They can’t apologize or talk to Hails if she’s not fucking here. She asked to be reassigned…

They head down to Fury’s office. Why he’s still here at this hour is beyond Bucky, but the man does what he does and he does it well seemingly.

“Care to tell me why you two are trying to pry information about Agent Thirteen from FRIDAY?” he asks before Steve and Bucky are even in the room.

“Her name is--”

“I don’t care what her name is,” Fury snaps. “The amount of stupid shit that has gone down around here involving her is insane. I have fresh recruits walking around the halls talking about Cap and Barnes beating the shit out of each other because she set you two up!”

“She didn’t set us up. We did this shit on our own,” Bucky says flatly. Fury glares at him. 

“You two decided to fight over a girl just for shits and giggles?”

“No,” Steve replies.

“Care to elaborate?”

“No. She hasn’t done anything wrong. I acted out of foolishness and nobody hit anybody. She saved Buck’s life--”

“There’s another discrepancy,” Fury butts in. “Your story is that she tended your wounds and kept you from doing dumb shit while you were in the throws of a fever. The story she gave Romanov matches that. The story I got in her report is that she pulled you from the ice and you took care of yourself. Now why the hell would she do that?”

Bucky and Steve exchange glances. 

“She...what?” Bucky asks. He’s so confused right now. “I couldn’t bandage my wound. Not where it was located, not shaking like I was from being in the ice.”

“She told Natasha what happened. I don’t know why she changed her story,” Steve adds. 

“To get me to reassign her,” Fury mutters. “You mean to tell me I let a damn good agent go because you two got into a fight and she’s taking the blame for it.”

Neither of them can respond. Fury nods his head, and you can almost feel the anger radiating from him. 

“We can go get her,” Steve starts to say.

“Oh hell no! The days of you galavanting around looking for people on Stark’s dime is over. She requested to be reassigned and she was. There are other seasoned agents coming in and I’m damn sure one of them can fit the bill just as well if not better than Thirteen did and NOT CAUSE A FUCKING FIGHT BETWEEN THE SUPER SOLDIERS!”

“She didn’t cause the fight,” Steve says through clenched teeth. “I did.”

“I don’t want to know,” Fury says shaking his head. “It’s over. She’s been reassigned--”

“You just said she was a damn good agent, Sir. Why let her go when we can have her assigned here again?” Steve questions. Bucky shakes his head. This isn’t going to end the way Steve thinks. 

“No,” Fury says with finality. “Given what you two just told me and the fact that she felt she had to request to be reassigned after all this, she stays where she is. If she requests to come back I will look into it, but no one on the team will know where she is unless it’s because you’re joining her on a mission.”

He studies both men waiting for more arguments. Steve is looking down in despair and Bucky is still trying to process the fact that Hails lied on her report and then requested to be reassigned. 

Something else sticks in his craw...Hails telling Steve that people throw her away.

================================================================================================================================================================

Clint is sitting at his dining room table at his home staring mindlessly at Stone’s file. Everything he’s searched for to try and find the missing chunks of time has come up with nothing.

“Are you trying to use your Jedi mind powers?” Laura teases. She puts a plate of eggs and bacon in front of him and moves the file out of the way.

“If that would give me the answers, sure.”

“Maybe you should take a break from it for a while. Work on the tractor you’ve been threatening to fix for weeks.”

“Or,” he says pushing the eggs around on his plate, “I could take you upstairs and work on you.”

“After you eat.”

“Ooohhh!” Clint yells and starts shoveling food in his mouth. Laura laughs and gets up from the table. 

“Put that away before you come upstairs.”

Clint inhales the rest of his breakfast, secures Stone’s file, checks on the kids, and then chases Laura around the bedroom for over an hour. 

She’s napping peacefully and Clint decides to try her suggestion. He throws on some old clothes and goes outside to look at the tractor. 

Just as he settles into what he’s doing it strikes him that he can call in a favor from someone he’s worked with in the past with SHIELD. If anyone can get the information it’s Godwin Rutherford. If nothing else, the old fart can point him in the right direction.

He spends the rest of the day with his family and that night he lets Laura know he’s going to be leaving early to work on the file mystery. 

“Did you have your moment of clarity out with the tractor?” she asks as she snuggles up against him. 

“I think you cleaning my pipes cleared that up.”

“You’re so romantic. I can’t stand it,” she quips. He laughs and kisses her head. 

Early the following morning Clint peaks in on his kids, wishing them silent farewells before he leaves. Laura is waiting on him by the front door wearing his thick robe and a sleepy smile.

“Be careful,” she tells him as she gives him a hug.

“Always am.”

“Come back soon, stranger. That bed gets lonely.”

“Send me videos of what you do to make it not so lonely,” he teases as he kisses her. She smacks his arm, but she’s laughing at his stupid joke. He was serious, though. 

It takes three hours to get to his destination and once he’s there he remembers why he doesn’t see Rutherford that much. The guy is a fucking recluse. He makes the spider look welcoming.

“Barton,” the old geezer snorts as he trundles down the few stairs in front of his dilapidated home, “what the fuck brings you out here?”

“I need your help.”

“‘Course you do! Only time you come see me, you little shit.”

“I’ve missed you too, Sir.”

“Don’t  _ Sir _ me, you pompous little dog turd,” Rutherford warns, “I haven’t been in that outfit since I retired.”

“At the ripe old age of a hundred and two.”

“Keep it up. I can still shoot you.”

“You’d have to load that old musket first and I can run faster than you can load it.”

Rutherford glares at him, his eyes milky and sallow.

“Get inside and have a drink with me, you shit!”

“Yes, sir,” Clint laughs. He helps Rutherford inside, listening to the old man prattle on about crazy shit. 

“Get that bottle of whiskey over there,” Rutherford commands as he slumps into a worn recliner. Clint retrieves the aforementioned whisky from around stacks and stacks and stacks of papers and legal boxes. 

“What the hell is all this? It wasn’t like this the last time,” Clint mentions. 

Rutherford looks around and grins. He’s missing more teeth now. Sweet Christ…

“You don’t come to me for my wonderful stories, wiseass. You come to me for information. I heard what you were looking for,” Rutherford says taking the glass from Clint and downing the double shot in one gulp. 

“What am I looking for?” Clint asks and pours more whiskey into Rutherford’s glass. The old man is just pulling his chain. No one knows what Clint is after except for Steve and Bucky. They old man eyes him up for a minute.

“Hayley Stone.”

================================================================================================================================================================

Bucky, Sam, and Steve are watching this new batch of recruits spar with one another. 

“I heard a rumor,” Sam says quietly. “Lannister is on his way here.”

“Who the fuck is that?” Bucky demands. Steve groans in dismay. 

“Please tell me you’re kidding,” Steve begs. This isn’t what he wanted to hear.

“Nope.”

“Who did you hear this from?” Steve asks, temporarily ignoring Bucky’s question.

“Saw the file on Hill’s desk when I turned in my report.”

“That’s just his file, it doesn’t mean anything,” Steve says with relief. “He knows Hayley,” he says answering Bucky’s question.

“Knows her? How?” Bucky asks. Steve knows Buck’s going to want any information on this guy. They’re still trying to figure out where Hayley went. 

“Not in a good sense, I’m sure,” Sam tells him. Steve remembers the conversation he had with Lannister. 

“He thinks Hayley isn’t good enough to be here,” Steve says quietly. 

“Oh Jesus fucking...is this one of those  _ I’m a super agent get me on the team I love you Captain America _ things?” Bucky grumbles. 

“Yeah, pretty much,” Sam says and chuckles. 

“He tried telling me men do a better job in these rolls than women do.”

Bucky snorts and the agents all turn and look.

“Keep going!” Sam barks. 

“I’ve seen men crack under the smallest amount of pressure,” Bucky states. “I’ve seen them fold in situations like what I was in because they can’t think straight.”

“What? With HYDRA?” Sam asks.

“No, numbnuts, with Hails and me on that last mission.”

Steve is amused at how quickly Bucky adopted his nickname for Hayley. He’s slightly upset because they both have admitted to having feelings for her, but they’ve both agreed their priority is to find her and set things right. After that...

“Hails,” Sam repeats. “You two still on about this girl?”

“Why?” Steve asks casually. 

“Just asking. Didn’t see the two golden age bros as the polyamory type. HEY! What the hell was that?!” he yells at the agents, one of which is cradling his nether regions and the other bouncing around them like a rubber ball.

“Golden age bros,” Bucky mutters.

“That’s what got you? Not the polyamory thing?”

“Do you know what that is, Steve?”

“I don’t think this is the place to discuss threesomes, Buck.”

Bucky bursts out laughing, disrupting Sam’s scolding of the agents and garnering a scathing look from Sam in the process.

“Not the answer I was expecting from you, Steve,” Bucky says trying to stifle his laughter now. 

“I can tell.”

“This Lannister guy said he knew Hails?”

“Mentioned her by name. Not in here, Buck,” Steve says looking over at his friend. He nods towards the other agents. Bucky rolls his eyes. 

“Fuck ‘em.”

“Not likely.”

Bucky starts to laugh again.

================================================================================================================================================================

Hayley is outside on patrol. The wind is bone-chillingly cold, penetrating the heavy thermal gear she has on. She doesn’t mind. It’s welcome. It reminds her that she is in the one place that no one will ever look for her. The one place that even if they cared to find out where she went (which they won’t) they would never come to willingly. 

Welcome to Siberia, the defunct HYDRA base that is now maintained by a few rotating agents. This is where Agent Thirteen is currently stationed and this is where she plans on removing the weakness that is Hayley Stone. She will erase her and she will become Agent Thirteen completely and totally. No more foolish bullshit, no more  _ friends _ , just work, just the mission, just the assignment. Complete that and move on. 

She plans on having Hayley Stone erased before the rotation happens in a few weeks.

================================================================================================================================================================

Steve and Bucky are watching the game in Bucky’s quarters. The Mets look like a minor t-ball league tonight. They can’t hit for shit unless it’s handed to them.

Bucky has been thinking about Hails and what this Lannister asshole might know about her and if he knows where she is. But there’s a part of him that’s been chewing on what Sam had said--polyamory. Dating more than one person. A multi person relationship. They wouldn’t have to fight over her--if they ever find her. She would be theirs, their girl. He could handle that. Hell, if it means he and Steve won’t fight over her and Bucky could…

“BARNES!”

“What!”

“Are you sleeping?” Steve asks. 

“Do I look like I was asleep?”

“I’m not sure with you.”

“Piss off,” Bucky mutters. Steve grins and looks at the sketch he drew that Bucky framed on the wall.

“You really like that, don’t you?”

“You’re good. You’ve always had a talent for that, Steve.”

“I miss her, Buck,” Steve says so softly it’s almost drowned out by the TV.

“Hayley? Or Sharon? I noticed she’s been calling you a lot lately.”

“She’s been calling me since Tony’s damn party...did you see Hayley? In that dress?”

“I caught a good glimpse of her, yeah,” Bucky says, refraining from telling Steve that if he had a tux he would have gone down to the party uninvited just to dance with her. 

“Did you see how it…” he makes a flowing gesture with his hands and then pantomimes the curves of Hayley’s body.

“I’m not blind, Steve.”

“The only thing she’s looked better in was that night she and I slept together,” Steve says. Bucky forgets how to breathe and starts to cough. Steve gives him a curious look.

“You what?”

“We were supposed to spend time hanging out when I got back from a mission...you were gone and I just...Buck, she does this thing where I put my head in her lap and she runs her fingers through my hair and…”

Bucky’s jealous. So very jealous. What he would have given to have her do that. 

“How did you end up sleeping with her?”

“I’m not trying to start a fight, Buck. I should have kept my fucking mouth shut.”

“No, keep going.”

Steve shakes his head no. 

“You started it, now finish it. Tell me what happened,” Bucky insists. This is a foolhardy thing to do seeing as he’s already jealous, but he wants to know. Steve was so close to her…

“Tank top and these skimpy underwear, like bikini bottoms you see on the girls on TV.”

Bucky’s eyes widen. 

“What the hell were you doing over there with her in almost nothing?”

“Apologizing for putting my foot in my mouth again,” Steve replies honestly. “At 230 in the morning.”

Now Bucky’s amused. Steve is so fucking lost with Hayley he’s showing up at her door in the middle of the night. 

“What happened?”

“I told her I was an idiot, that I was comfortable around her...she slipped up and called me babe and I had to convince her it was because she was relaxed around me. Then she had to convince me I was relaxed with her because, honest to fucking god, Buck, all I do is sleep around her.”

“Or laugh.”

“That, too. Usually it’s sleeping,” Steve says sounding regretful. Bucky’s a little shocked to hear this. He figured the two of them were yukking it up and just having a grand ol’ time hanging all over each other. Turns out Steve was just cuddling with her. He’s not sure if that’s better or worse than what he originally thought. Would Hails ever cuddle with him? Would he ever be comfortable enough to fall asleep anywhere near her when he’s not delirious?

“She asked me if I wanted to spend the night--”

“Was this before or after you tried to convince us both that the two of you were just friends?”

“Before,” Steve admits. 

Bucky drags his hand down his face. Important missing information here. Had he known  _ this _ none of what transpired with Hayley would have ever been mentioned and he would have told her to stay quiet, too. 

“You slept with her?”

“In bed, next to her. We held each other, that was the extent of it. I had a bad dream, she sat with me till I was able to get out of it. Jesus Christ,” he moans. “She thinks I threw her away, Buck. She thinks I don’t care.”

“I’m not any better off, Steve. I turned my back on her every time I saw her,” Bucky says, his heart tightening in his chest at the memory. 

“FRIDAY,” Steve says after a few long minutes.

“Yes, Captain Rogers?”

“Has Agent Stone’s whereabouts been declassified yet?”

“No, Sir.”

Bucky shakes his head.

“Why did she tell you she gets thrown away, Steve?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know if she was just talking shit because her blood pressure was in the process of bottoming out or if she actually meant it.”

“I can understand why you’re so fond of her, kid. I witnessed some of her warmth on that mission. She told me about you trying to make her drink that shitty Scotch.”

Steve barks out a laugh. 

“I kept thinking that you two would probably get along, but I couldn’t…I couldn’t bring myself to hang out with you both. I wanted to keep you separate for my own selfish reasons.”

“What do we do when we find her?”

“If we find her? I’m going to get on my knees and beg for forgiveness.”

“Groveling doesn’t suit you, kid. Never did. You really think she’d want to see that?” Bucky asks. 

“No. What are you going to do?”

“Buy her flowers and tell her I’m a fucking moron.”

“She likes the courtyard, Buck.”

“Does she?” Bucky asks, genuinely intrigued to hear this.

“I caught her outside once, after we had an argument--”

“You sleep, laugh or argue with her. That’s it?”

“We were still working out the bugs,” Steve attempts to joke. It’s a poor attempt at best.

Bucky shakes his head. 

“Courtyard,” he says trying to get Steve to continue.

“I’ll show you. Hold on,” Steve says getting up. Bucky is certain there’s a drawing involved of this courtyard scenario. Steve likes to draw Hails. A lot. 

Steve comes back a few minutes later with his sketchbook. He’s flipping through the pages trying to find what he’s looking for.

“Here,” he says handing Bucky the book. Sure enough it’s a sketch of Hails in the courtyard. She’s standing by a rose covered trellis, a look of bliss on her pretty face. 

“Is she…”

“She was smelling the roses. This was after she chased a butterfly over there.”

Bucky feels like he’s turning into mush. She chased a butterfly over to the roses. He’d buy her a goddamn field of butterflies to chase if she wanted it.

“She called me out on calling her doll,” Bucky says cautiously. He’s not sure if this is a good idea or not. “When I asked her if it offended her she said I reminded her of the old James Cagney films.”

“That girl…” Steve muses almost dreamily. 

“Has an old soul. She told me how glamorous she thought the forties were.”

“While you were hurt?”

“She was trying to keep me awake until she was sure I wasn’t going to go into cardiac arrest or slip into a coma or something,” Bucky explains. “She kept her wits about her the whole time, Steve. I never saw her panic. Not once. Not one fucking time. She just rolled with it.”

“I wonder if she dances?” Steve asks. 

“If she doesn’t we could teach her,” Bucky says without thinking. They look at each other. 

“Polyamory,” Steve says after a minute. “If I hadn’t fucked things up we may have had a chance at it.”

================================================================================================================================================================

Clint is on his way back to the compound. He feels sick. He feels dirty. He got the answers he was looking for from Rutherford, but it’s not at all what he was expecting. 

And now he has to show this to Steve.

“FRIDAY, call Rogers.”

“Yes, Agent Barton.”

He hears the line ring a couple of times before Steve answers.

“Clint--”

“I’ll be there in five minutes. I have your answers. You better be prepared for this.”

“Answers? Hayley?”

“Hayley. I’ll meet you in the conference room. Make sure you have FRIDAY turn off surveillance in there.”

“I’ll be there,” Steve promises. The line disconnects and a few minutes later Clint is at the compound. He carries what he has into the smallest conference room. Steve isn’t there. He should have told Rogers which one he meant.

“FRIDAY, tell Rogers where I am. Then turn off surveillance to this conference room only.”

“Yes, Agent Barton.”

Clint puts everything he’s carrying on the table and wheels over the antique TV with the built in VCR. 

Steve comes in a few moments later accompanied by Barnes. Clint wasn’t expecting this. 

“What did you find out?” Steve asks looking at the legal boxes Clint had brought in. 

“What the hell...this is all on Hails?” Barnes asks.

“Hails?” Clint questions. “No. But it pertains to her.”

He puts the VHS tape in the VCR and then stops. 

“Buck...this isn’t…this might not be something you want to see. Not with what you’ve been through,” Clint says carefully. Bucky and Steve exchanged confused glances. 

“What’s on the tape?” Steve asks. 

“I can handle it. Play it,” Bucky says firmly. Clint looks to Steve for the okay. Steve nods and Clint pushes play. 

The tape starts up and it shows footage of Hayley in a straight jacket pacing a padded room. The film jumps to Hayley in another room, hands and feet cuffed to a chair. Someone is across from her but you can’t see their face in the video, only their hands and a file.

“You can’t keep living this lie, Miss Stone. You have to face reality.”

The tape jumps again.

“Patient is unresponsive to conventional drug treatments. Moving on to less conventional drug treatments.”

The tape jumps to Hayley back in the padded room, leaned against the wall crying. 

The tape jumps again. Back into the room where Hayley is cuffed to the chair. She’s barely able to stay upright.

“Do you still insist that Agent Lannister is the reason you’re here?”

“He--he is.” Her voice is weak.

“He isn’t. You made up that whole story. You tried to ruin the career of a young up-and-coming agent with these lies!” the man out of frame yells at her.

“N-no,” she stutters, shaking her head. “He did this.”

“He did no such thing! You have to face the truth, Stone. You made this whole thing up. You are so deluded by your own jealous and hysterical nature that you can’t admit to the truth!”

“No--no! It’s...he tried…”

She’s backhanded so hard her head bounces off the back of the chair. 

“Patient still insists her story is the truth. Moving on to ECT.”

The footage cuts to Hayley being strapped down to a table, kicking and screaming to be let go. A man in a white coat shoves a bit into her mouth and then slaps her hard enough to make her nose bleed. Another orderly cleans her up. They strap the electrodes to her temples and then step away. You can barely make out someone giving the order to start. Hayley’s body convulses on the table.

Clint hears Bucky gag and turns in time to see him running to vomit in the trashcan in the corner. This is why he didn’t want Barnes in here.

“Stop the tape,” Steve says, his voice thick like he may end up puking as well. 

“That’s how I feel,” Clint states as he watches Bucky wipe his mouth with the back of his hand. 

“Who did this to her?” Steve asks. 

“There’s a whole story in here, Steve. And it’s not pretty. Not by a long shot.”

“Start talking,” Bucky mumbles. 

Clint starts pulling out some of the paperwork he took from Rutherford. He hands it to Steve. 

“Go get a drink, Buck,” Steve says. 

“Get something for all of us,” Clint adds. Bucky takes the trashcan and exits the room. 

“What happened to her, Clint?” Steve asks. He hasn’t even glanced at what Clint gave him. 

“Want me to wait for Barnes?”

Steve looks at the boxes on the table and Clint sees his eyes lit up in anger.

“Lannister,” Steve snarls. 

“You know the guy?”

“Fucking son of a bitch!” Steve roars. 

Bucky walks back into the room looking like he’s going to kill someone. 

“What the hell?!” 

“Sit. I was hoping you’d get the whiskey,” Clint says. 

“Talk, Clint,” Steve says dumping the one box out. 

Clint inhales deeply.

“Hayley was part of a team for a short time. Four members. It was her, Marcella DeLeon, Geoffrey Cantel, and Colton Lannister…”

Bucky’s eyes go wide at the mention of Lannister’s name. Clint isn’t sure how the two of them know this fuckwad and that’s going to have to wait until he’s finished with this sordid story.

“Lannister,” Bucky says looking at Steve.

“Continue,” Steve says handing Bucky some of the sheets he’s already looked over.

“Lannister and Hayley were an item depending on what you read. The information in the official documents is that they were dating. The information in the unofficial ones is that he was a verbally abusive piece of shit who tore her down to almost nothing because she refused his advances. Three years of working together and he had her believing she wasn’t worth anything and no one gave a fuck about her…”

“Oh, Hails,” Steve moans. Clint sees a slight tremor to Bucky’s lip. 

“Official documents state that Hayley, in a fit of jealous deluded hysteria attacked Lannister and then accused him of attempted rape after he drugged her--”

Both Steve and Bucky’s heads snap up. 

“Clint…”

“Let me finish, Buck,” Clint says stopping him. He takes a sip of water and continues. “There is another video of that night. It’s been edited. Heavily. I won’t show it. I can’t. Hayley is fully exposed and she’s...she’s alert, but only just. Someone walked in on it and you can hear them yelling, calling Lannister out. They didn’t edit that part out, and that should have been enough to convict this fuck…”

“He got away with it?” Bucky whispers.

“Yes and no. He didn’t accomplish what he set out to do - I hope - but when she reported him, when she tried to turn him in…” Clint pulls out some other papers. 

“This is a medical document,” Steve says looking it over. “Jesus fucking Christ, she was stabbed?!”

“Someone went after her to shut her up, but they failed. She told the doctor she knew who it was. This is his report,” he says handing it to Bucky, “and it was dismissed as part of her jealous hysteria. They said she stabbed herself. In the lower back, puncturing her own kidney.”

“What the fuck!” Bucky growls. “What the actual fuck?!”

“It doesn’t get any better. There were people she trusted who knew the truth, people who had overheard what Lannister was going to do. They had a hearing because Hayley refused to let this go. All of the people who told her they would back her up turned on her. They lied.”

“Do we have proof?” Steve asks trying to sort through the papers. “The fucking tape should have been enough…”

“It wasn’t. All I have are some more unofficial documents of a few people saying that Lannister was overheard berating her and then talking about drugging her and getting what he wanted because she had spurned his advances for the last time. Official documents show the exact opposite, that none of these people heard anything and that Lannister was a model agent and a good leader. The disciplinary hearing found Lannister innocent of any wrongdoing and then had Hayley committed for trying to ruin his career and being a  _ mentally unfit to continue as an acting agent _ . You can see the exact wording here,” Clint says handing them the hearing decree. 

“ _ It is the finding of this military tribunal that Agent Colton Lannister’s good name and character have attempted to be slandered by the clearly hysterical Agent Hayley Stone. It is our findings that Agent Stone has acted out of jealous rage and attempted to ruin the career of Agent Lannister by spreading vicious lies and going so far as to injure herself to make it believable _ ...I can’t read anymore of this,” Steve says handing the paper to Bucky. 

“They deleted or tried to delete any evidence that would show Hayley was telling the truth. It was scrubbed from her file and his.”

“Why?” Steve asks. 

“Because she’s a woman. Because Lannister was someone’s favorite ass kisser and rather than ruin a man’s reputation with this, they turned on Hayley and made her suffer for speaking out. The tribunal was all men, wasn’t it?” Bucky asks.

“All men,” Clint states. “All men who had a stake in losing something if it came to light that one or more women have been victimized by this fuck. But that’s not where it ends.”

“Dear god,” Bucky groans.

“They scrubbed her files and his. They sent her to a psych ward - like you saw - and tortured her till she recanted her story. But,” Clint says pulling the  _ coupe de grais _ out of all the paperwork, “they did acknowledge that Lannister was a potential problem. He was ordered to stay no less than five hundred MILES from Hayley. Never to reach out to her, never seek her out, no contact whatsoever. Because he’s innocent, obviously.”

“This fucking piece of trash...he knew her. He knew...he was fucking with me,” Steve hisses. 

“Lannister? When was this?” Clint asks.

“One of the last missions I ran, the one with that dirty Vizier. He was there. He  _ asked  _ me if I knew Hayley!”

“He was here just before she left,” Clint says softly. “I didn’t know who he was until a few hours ago. FRIDAY, play surveillance from 3/10/19 starting at 0900.”

The virtual screen appears over the paperwork and the footage begins to roll. The three men watch as Lannister verbally assaults Hayley right up until Clint walks in and kicks him out.

Both Steve and Bucky are visibly shook. 

“He told her we didn’t care. He told her...I should have talked to her sooner. I should have pulled my fucking head out of my ass--”

“And done what, Steve?” Clint asks. “Started a fight with her because you were still buried in your own jealous pit? I know what happened. You can’t change how this turned out--”

“We can make sure this gets to Fury. I want Lannister’s head,” Steve states fiercely. 

“On a fucking pike,” Barnes adds. 

“I have every intention of hiding this shit until I can get it to Fury. I don’t think he knows about this. He wouldn’t allow this shit to happen. You two want to make things right, we start by getting justice for your girl and showing her that she has people she can trust here with us.”

================================================================================================================================================================

It’s been almost six months since Agent Thirteen requested to be reassigned and subsequently left the Avengers compound. Six months of moving around, ignoring her aching heart, and the biting loneliness. 

She lands at her next destination - an encampment in the woods monitoring potential terrorist activity in the nearby city. HYDRA bullshit for short.

She hears an all too familiar voice and she wants to scream, cry, rage...and run to him.

“This isn’t up for debate. This is what we’re doing.” Steve’s voice is gruff, like whoever he’s talking to has finally hit his last nerve. 

“He said stop.” That was Bucky. 

The third voice she hears makes her start to backup a few paces.

“With all due respect,  _ Sergeant Barnes _ , this was a conversation between Captain Rogers and I.”

“That’s enough Lannister. This is what we’re doing,” Steve says with finality. “The other two agents should be here soon. You and Cantel set up a perimeter with Widow and Falcon.”

“You’re the boss, Sir,” Lannister’s slimy voice says. 

Hayley sees them emerge for the largest of the tents, Lannister talking in hushed tones to Cantel who looks less than thrilled to be listening. 

Thirteen now has to present herself to Steve. She’s shaking. Her heart is racing. Bucky is there, too, and that just makes it worse.

She sucks in a lungful of air and heads toward the tent. 

“Captain Rogers. Agent Thirteen reporting in, Sir.”

Steve drops the schematics he was fighting with the second he hears her voice. Bucky’s eyes go wide and then Thirteen sees the sappiest smiles in the world.

“HAILS!” Steve yells. 

“Steve, no,” Bucky says holding him back. Thirteen takes a step back, holding her composure despite wanting to hug Steve and beat the shit out of him and then kiss Bucky and kick him in the fucking shins.

Their smiles fade. 

“Hayley...Hayley, I’m sor--”

“Is there something I can do, Sir? I’d like to get started,” Hayley cuts in. The hurt look on Steve’s face is mirrored by the look in Bucky’s eyes. 

“We can talk. You shouldn’t be here. Not with Lannister,” Steve says gently. This catches her off guard and her stony composure starts to crack.

“We know what happened, doll,” Bucky says softly. He steps around her and peers out of the tent. Thirteen’s head spins for a second. They don’t know. They’re bluffing. 

“Know what, Sergeant Barnes?” she asks. He and Steve exchange glances. 

“Who sent you here, Hayley?” Steve asks. Now she knows she was set up. Lannister told them about her and now they’re all here to try and fucking break her once and for all. Her resolve returns ten fold. 

“You did, Sir.

==================================================================

 


End file.
